CH 25.2

The crew’s shooting location was at the outskirts of a suburb in Jiang City, where the scenic design had already been constructed. They had to film here for quite a while. After all, it was a wuxia* movie so they had to film some scenic landscapes of mountains and rivers. 

wuxia – martial arts chivalry

When Su Shen got there, they were just about to hold the opening ceremony. This time, she was the female lead, so she was finally able to stand in the center. Zhu Qinqin, who got the supporting female role, stood beside her wearing a red mini-dress, revealing a pair of fair legs seemingly wanting to steal her limelight but Su Shen didn’t care. Zhu Qinqin’s legs were too thick, and she clearly didn’t know it herself.    

After offering incense, those reporters who caught wind surrounded Jiang Yin and her. 

Many cameras were aimed right at their face, with flashes incessantly flashing. Su Shen only had light makeup on today and wore a pink knee-length dress—not too much to catch the eye. 

“Jiang Yin, have you heard of the news circulating online? Who do you think is more suitable for this role, Su Shen or Mu Yao?” 

The first one who spearheaded the questions was an entertainment news reporter. This question was surely sharp enough, and completely disregarded Su Shen’s presence. But if the person standing beside Jiang Yin was Mu Yao, she most definitely wouldn’t have dared to ask that. 

In front of them were microphones from some social media websites and news networks, and the flashes were nonstop. Su Shen couldn’t even walk away, and Liu jie was over there signaling her with her eyes. 

Fortunately, Jiang Yin was already used to such a scene. He smiled and answered without a bit of hesitation, “In my eyes, Su Shen is the female lead.” 

Great, there was finally a headline to write about. That female reporter was also content but continued to strike while the iron was hot, “Do you think Su Shen’s acting is better than Mu Yao’s?”  

This reporter’s question was too sharp. Jiang Yin withstood and asked with a smile, “Which of them do you think has better acting?” 

That female reporter stayed silent while another reporter directly shoved their microphone toward Su Shen’s mouth, “What do you think of the rumor circulating online saying that you snatched Mu Yao’s role?” 

“You even said it was a rumor. How can a rumor be taken seriously?” Su Shen also smiled. 

“Is it true that your sister is the vice president of Tangerine TV?” 

“Yesterday, Wang Cheng posted a photo of eating dinner at your house. Are you guys’ relationship great?”

“Jiang Yin, everyone is very curious about your relationship with Yang Zhi. Is there a possibility of you guys being together?” 

“What is your ideal type?” 

The questions continued wave upon wave, becoming sharper and sharper. After answering all of their questions, it was already half an hour later, and it was because they were pulled away by their managers. Otherwise, those reporters would question them endlessly. 

The crew had built a wooden house in the suburbs where the heroine lived with her master. As for makeup and the rest, it had to be done inside each person’s mini-van. 

After finally breaking away from the group of reporters, Liu jie took Su Shen to the side and said, “This isn’t a sealed-off location, so paparazzi will often sneak in to take photos. Be attentive to your image. Even if you’re photographed talking to Jiang Yin or have any sort of movement between you two, don’t rush to clarify it—just be inconclusive.” 

“Got it.” Su Shen said insipidly. 

Liu jie seemingly still wanted to say something, but as she looked at those reporters who were reluctant to leave, she didn’t say anything else besides telling her to be careful in all aspects. 

After Liu jie left, Su Shen went back into the minivan to rest and get her makeup done. When she was scrolling through her phone, she found that the interview earlier had already been cut into a video and posted online. Su Shen could already predict that Mu Yao’s fans would arrive at the battlefield within a few seconds. 

But today’s trending was occupied by a breaking news account. It turned out that the marketing account said that Xie Yan was making a TV drama comeback, and it was a modern idol drama based on a novel. Although it’s an indeterminate claim, the fans still went crazy. 

Netizen A: Xie Yan’s gonna film an idol drama. Then the day I win 5 million won’t be too long off, yea? 

Netizen B: AHHHHH! Is this true? Is my hubby finally gonna be a domineering CEO? Just thinking about it makes me excited! 

Netizen C: NOOO! I don’t wanna see hubby bi dong* another woman!

bi dong – a Chinese internet slang used to describe a scene where someone is pressed up against a wall and kissed  

Netizen D: This old lady’s young heart is about to be ignited again! 

Netizen E: Hehehe, a certain person’s fans boast about how they’re so low-profile every day, but now, they’re back on TV for the money!

Netizen F: All fans should wait for the official announcement. We refuse to ride the beat with the anti-fans and the marketing account. [smiley face] 

Xie Yan filming an idol drama was obviously nonsense. His next movie was clearly an action film. How could he go and shoot an idol drama? He also didn’t seem to be the type of person who would shoot an idol drama either. After reading through the comments, Su Shen went to film and didn’t believe these rumors at all. 

The first scene had the supporting female lead played by Zhu Qinqin and her butler who went to look for the miracle doctor to treat her father, and later on the way, they met the heroine. The supporting female lead was arrogant and unreasonable and cursed at the miracle doctor for living in such a remote place. This was heard by the heroine, and naturally, she didn’t like others cursing at her master. She then played a trick on her. After being found out, the supporting female lead extremely hated the heroine, and the two almost fought. 

The first scene was Zhu Qinqin’s part, which had stayed stagnant for a while. However, TV dramas were not as strict as films regarding acting, so the Director let her pass with her so-so acting. But compared with the veteran actor who played the butler, Zhu Qinqin’s acting was unbearable to look at. Su Shen finally experienced what trash acting was from the perspective of a viewer. 

“Su Shen, come here and fasten yourself with the wire harness. It’s time to go up the tree!” The Director shouted with a loudspeaker. 

Upon hearing this, Su Shen fanned herself while allowing a staff member to fasten the wire harness around her. She was not afraid of heights, so she was quickly suspended and flew up to the tree. After adjusting her position, the Director asked everyone to prepare for filming. 

There were a lot of episodes in a TV series, so the filming was not as refined as a film. The Director would not thoroughly discuss every scene with you, so everything depended on an actor’s understanding of the script. 

“Get ready— action!” 

As the Director’s words fell, the camera moved to Su Shen’s face. As if she heard someone cursing at her master, she opened her eyes slightly and saw Zhu Qinqin, who was still swearing, not too far away.  

She was leaning against a tree trunk with her head resting on one hand and the other holding a stone. With a glance from the corner of her eye, she suddenly threw it to the ground! 

“AH!” 

Pretending to be in pain, Zhu Qinqin kneaded her forehead and looked around, “Who?! Which little thief is it? Come out!” 

Looking around, she seemed to have seen Su Shen up on the tree. She immediately widened her eyes and exaggeratedly pointed at her, “So it was this lass. You—come down!”  

“Miss…” The butler on the side pulled her sleeve, indicating her not to be so impulsive. 

Amidst the green hills and clear waters, there were verdant trees all around. When the camera got closer to her face, Su Shen closed her eyes and yawned lazily, “So noisy. When did a mad dog enter the forest?” 

“You… you… How dare you!” Zhu Qinqin drew her longsword angrily, positioning herself to rush forward to attack. 

Just at this moment, Su Shen opened her eyes and flew down from the tree. The air blower on the side was blowing at her, causing her clothes to flutter and made her appear ethereal. 

As soon as she landed on the ground, Su Shen blinked with curiosity with both of her hands behind her back. She swept a glance over Zhu Qinqin and said, “Who are you guys?” 

Her exquisite small face was full of innocence and curiosity. Perhaps it was because of her age, but there was not the slightest hint of unnaturalness. Contrarily, Zhu Qinqin’s fuming appearance appeared particularly fake. With the contrast, the crew members were somewhat baffled. Wasn’t Su Shen’s acting terrible? How come it doesn’t seem so? 

Zhu Qinqin seemed to have also noticed this issue. Fearing that her limelight would be snatched by Su Shen, she exerted more emotions and drew out her long sword and pointed it at Su Shen, “Who are you to inquire this miss’ name?!”  

Seeing the long sword at her neck, Su Shen didn’t seem to be fazed. Instead, she suddenly turned around, blinked her eyes, and said naughtily, “I know it even if you don’t tell me. You’re just a mad dog!” 

“You…” Zhu Qinqin was about to stab her with her sword again. 

“Cut!” The Director picked up the loudspeaker exhaustedly and shouted, “Zhu Qinqin, your sword-holding stance is wrong. Fight Choreographer, go and adjust it for her.” 

It wasn’t known until they were compared, but Su Shen and Zhu Qinqin were simply a world apart. The Director didn’t want to say anything since Zhu Qinqin was also placed into the crew through connections. 

Zhu Qinqin felt somewhat embarrassed seeing as she got cut again. She glared at Su Shen unhappily and went to drink water.  

Just at this time, Su Shen’s makeup artist also immediately came forward and retouched her makeup. As it was so hot today, their makeup would easily be ruined.  

The next few scenes went pretty smoothly. It was just that Zhu Qinqin liked to vie over stuff with her, even over her makeup artist. But Su Shen didn’t care. If it was hers then it was hers, there was no such thing as giving in. 

Although Zhu Qinqin liked to meddle with her in everything, Su Shen had been too lazy to bother with such trifles. On the contrary, the other party had been jumping up and down enthusiastically. 

The rest of the filming went pretty well. But just as they were about to change the filming site for a week, Su Shen received a call from Liu jie, saying that the modern drama she was going to accept before had been sniped by another person! 

“I heard it was Yang Zhi who contacted the producer. Compared with you, the producer will naturally choose Yang Zhi. Moreover, the contract hadn’t been signed, so it can’t be counted as a breach of contract.” Liu jie said in all seriousness. 

Su Shen was sitting inside the mini-van and had wanted to sleep. But when she heard this, she immediately pulled herself together and asked with surprise, “Didn’t you say that this is a small production? How could Yang Zhi take a fancy to this?” 

The pay for a small production wasn’t that high, and the production team wasn’t the best either. There was no need for Yang Zhi to lower herself to go and act in this kind of production. 

“I’m not too sure either, I’ll need to go and ask around. But since Yang Zhi took the initiative to contact the producer, there must be some gain that we don’t know about, so we still can’t give up on this drama. Let’s wait and see how the producer will react.” Liu jie said earnestly. 

Hearing that, Su Shen leaned against the seat and didn’t say anything. 

It was not until Xiao Zhou called for her to go out and film the next scene that Su Shen said to the other person on the phone, “Do as you please. I’ll go and film first.” 

As her words fell, Liu jie suddenly said anxiously, “Wait, I have something to tell you. As your popularity is still too low, it’s not favorable to the drama’s publicity. I have contacted Jiang Yin’s manager, and we’ll first gain some cp fans for you guys. The day after tomorrow, go and have dinner with Jiang Yin. There will be paparazzi following, and they’ve all been arranged beforehand. You just need to remember to cooperate.”